


Love Is a Promise

by dragonwings948



Series: A Night on Darillium [1]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Episode: 2015 Xmas The Husbands of River Song, F/M, Introspection, Kissing, Love Confessions, Post-Episode: 2015 Xmas The Husbands of River Song, Romance, Romantic Gestures
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-06
Updated: 2019-12-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:07:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21695113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: River is floored by the thought of twenty-four years with the Doctor, but she also knows him too well. Does he really love her enough to stay with her that long?
Relationships: The Doctor/River Song, Twelfth Doctor/River Song
Series: A Night on Darillium [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1563853
Comments: 6
Kudos: 55





	Love Is a Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, here’s the explanation! Yes, this is essentially the first chapter of my fic A Night on Darillium. When I first started posting that fic, I didn’t really know how ao3 worked, so I didn’t know you could create a series with multiple fics. As time went on, I realised that a series would be the best way to post my Darillium fics for many reasons, the biggest one being that with all the stories being in a single fic, I feel like I can’t really post them out of order. With a series, I don’t necessarily have to post the stories chronologically because I can reorder them later. I have a LOT more Twelve and River Darillium content already written, but some of it takes place way later than the current chapters, so I haven’t been able to post them. 
> 
> So here’s what I’m going to do: I’m going to go through and edit all of the stories in my fic A Night on Darillium and post them each as individual fics within a series. If you’ve already read A Night on Darillium you don’t have to read the stories again, but I am making quite a few changes so you might like to! It’s been a few years since I’ve even touched some of these stories and I’ve grown a lot as a writer since then, so there are some things I definitely need to change. (The main points of the stories will probably remain the same, however, so it’s your choice on whether or not you want to read again!) Once I have all the stories posted individually, I’m going to delete the old fic. 
> 
> Anyway, long story short, turning this into a series will make a lot more sense and mean a lot more content in the long run! I already have one or two new stories I’m going to post once all the original ones are posted. 
> 
> If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then welcome to my fic! Please enjoy my two favourite dorks being adorable! 
> 
> Thank you guys for understanding, and for all your support! I love that there are still so many Twelve and River fans around. :)

“How long is a night on Darillium?” River’s heart raced as seconds of silence ticked by. She held her breath. The thought of spending a mere one night with this Doctor she had only just met was unacceptable. Moreover, it was supposed to be their very last night of all, a thought she couldn’t even comprehend. 

Then the Doctor  _ smiled.  _ And although his face was new, River knew that smile. It was his smug, saving-the-day smile. He turned his head away from her to hide it, but it was too late. River felt hope blossom within her like a single candle in the midst of complete darkness. 

“Twenty-four years,” the Doctor said, leaning toward her slightly as if sharing a sacred secret. Mirth shone in his eyes as he watched her, waiting. 

It took a moment for the words to lodge themselves in River’s brain. Twenty-four years. Twenty-four years with her Doctor. Twenty. Four.  _ Years. _

She could have sworn her heart stopped beating. Yet, she laughed in disbelief. He had done it again, like she had known he would. And all this time he had let her think that they only had one night. Stupid, stupid man. 

Oncoming tears stung her eyes. “I hate you,” she forced out past the lump in her throat. Contrary to her words, she took a step closer to him, her shoulder just touching his. 

A small smile broke out on the Doctor’s face and he leaned in close to quietly state, “No you don’t.” His eyes met hers and River couldn’t quite believe that this was the Doctor. He—or anyone else, for that matter—had never looked at her quite like this, like…like he loved her. Like he was falling in love with her again at this very moment. 

The intensity of his gaze forced her to tear her eyes away and look down at his shoulder. She took a deep breath and became aware of her heartbeat thudding in her ears at breakneck speed. No doubt the Doctor could hear it too. 

Right on cue, his fingers brushed against the palm of her hand, asking a silent question:  _ Are you okay?  _

River hardly knew herself. It had been a long, long time since she’d felt so completely overwhelmed by anything. Her thoughts were all over the place—a muddled mix of love, anticipation, relief, surprise, and everything in between—but it was the best kind of confusion.

In answer, River took the Doctor’s hand and squeezed it. Cool metal pressed lightly into her skin and for a moment River allowed herself to be distracted by the thought that he wore a wedding band.  _ A question for later,  _ she decided, and stored it carefully in the back of her mind. 

With a deliberate swallow, River met the Doctor’s gaze and once again found herself breathless at the look in his eyes. His lips stretched into a small smile and he gently compressed her hand. For once, River realised, their roles were entirely reversed; this time, the Doctor was the calm one, the one in control, while River found herself struggling to even breathe. 

It wasn’t fair, and River had the thought of teasing him somehow to level the playing field a bit, but she couldn’t quite focus when his eyes honed in on her lips. River stretched closer to him, raising her free hand to rest it on the back of his neck. And then nothing could stop the inevitable. The Doctor  _ was  _ the sun, his smile so bright it could light up a thousand worlds, his gravity no match for someone as small as her. Yet in all his glory, his eyes remained soft, and River could almost believe that in that moment he was just a man in love, nothing more. 

River’s thoughts came to a screeching halt as the Doctor closed the remaining distance between them. Their lips met in a tentative kiss, touching gently and then separating again after only a moment. Once again River noted, albeit with a touch of chagrin, that this Doctor had somehow entirely turned the tables. She had never expected to feel shy in the presence of the Doctor, and she had certainly never expected to kiss him like  _ that.  _ As soon as River felt heat rise up to her cheeks she looked down, still so close to the Doctor that she couldn’t tilt her head very far without her forehead touching his. 

The Doctor’s body vibrated with a quiet chuckle. River glanced up at him to see that he now wore a huge smile, his teeth gleaming in the golden light. His laughter was contagious, and River found herself joining in without a thought. 

“What’s so funny?” Absently, her fingertips began to stroke the soft curls on the back of his neck. 

Still grinning, the Doctor released her hand and turned his whole body to face her. “The universe!” he said, his eyebrows rising in time with his voice. 

River shook her head, finding a bit of her usual self again as she wondered, “Should I even ask why?” 

“I didn’t think I would ever see you again! And especially not like…” He gestured to his face. “...this. And we ended up here, of all places.”

“For twenty-four years,” River added in a whisper, reminding herself of the beautiful impossibility of it all. And yet, as she looked into his eyes, reality came roaring back all at once. All this tenderness, all this romance, it wasn’t really him. This was the Doctor, the man who couldn’t stand staying in the same place for thirty seconds unless there was some sort of mystery to solve. What in the universe could keep him here for twenty-four years? 

River’s hand fell from his neck and swung back to her side. The Doctor’s smile vanished and his eyes grew wide. “River?” 

She stared at the ground. She couldn’t meet those eyes that had just moments ago been full of love for her. It couldn’t have been real. Her vision blurred as tears returned. “How long are you going to stay, really?” She breathed out a shaky sigh. “And don’t you  _ dare  _ lie to me this time.” 

Silence. Even the singing towers seemed to pause for a breath. The night was still, and the Doctor was silent. 

“You were wrong, you know.” 

River raised her head to meet his eyes, so earnest and piercing. Before she could berate him for changing the subject, he continued. 

“Back on the ship, what you said about the sunset and the stars…you were wrong.” 

A wet trail made its way down River’s cheek. “No, I was right.” She blinked, and more tears escaped. “We both know you don’t get emotional.” 

“But love isn’t an emotion.” He took her hand and guided it to rest on his chest, leaving his hand on top of hers. Twin heartbeats pulsed underneath her fingertips. “It’s a promise.” 

_ Thump thump thump thump.  _ His heartbeats remained steady, while River could hear her own heart picking up speed and drumming in her ears. 

The Doctor’s eyes softened and he pressed her hand closer to his chest. “River Song, I am going to spend every single day of the next twenty-four years by your side. No running. Just you and me.” He paused for a moment, adding weight to the next words that he said so carefully, as if they would break when he uttered them. “Twenty-four years.” 

_ Thump thump thump thump.  _ His hearts never faltered once as he spoke. River bit her lip as a sob rose in her throat. She swallowed it back down and found she could only stare at the Doctor as tears trailed silently down her cheeks. For once in her life, she had no idea what to say. 

The Doctor’s lips twitched into a warm smile. “Gotcha.”

Using her hand’s position on his chest to her advantage, River wrapped her fingers around his tie and tugged his head down to hers. She grinned for a moment at his expression, frozen in shock, and then she kissed him, shifting her hand to his shoulder. The Doctor came to life at the touch of her lips, pulling her into his arms as he kissed her with barely a trace of the hesitance there had been last time. 

River pulled away first, a bit breathless and unable to keep from smiling. She placed her hand on the Doctor’s cheek and looked right into his eyes. “Thank you,” she said, knowing he didn’t need an explanation. 

The Doctor smiled like he didn’t have a care in the world. River thought she had never seen him so unburdened, so happy. He looked at her like she was the only thing that mattered to him. And for once, she could believe it. 

“Always, River.” He leaned forward and touched his forehead to hers, closing his eyes. River let her eyelids drift closed. The wind picked up and the song of the singing towers swelled to a crescendo, its music so beautiful that River almost cried again. But even more beautiful was the rumbling sound of the Doctor’s voice, barely audible, repeating his promise. 

“Always.”


End file.
